Memory device, memory system, and method of operating the same

ABSTRACT

A memory device, a memory system, and a method of operating the same. The memory device includes a memory cell array including a plurality of memory cells and a write command determination unit (WCDU) that determines whether a write command input to the memory device is (to be) accompanied a masking signal. The WCDU produces a first control signal if the input write command is (to be) accompanied by a masking signal. A data masking unit combines a portion of read data read from the memory cell array with a corresponding portion of input write data corresponding to the write command and generates modulation data in response to the first control signal. An error correction code (ECC) engine generates parity of the modulation data.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/623,221, filed on Apr. 12, 2012, in the United States Patent andTrademark Office, and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to KoreanPatent Application 10-2013-0028241 filed on Mar. 15, 2013, thedisclosures of both of which are incorporated by reference herein intheir entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The inventive concept relates to a memory device, a memory system, and amethod of operating the same, and more particularly, to a memory device,a memory system, and a method of operating the same, which can reduceresponse time for a command.

DISCUSSION OF THE RELATED ART

A conventional memory device or memory system of the related art havinga data masking DM function may also implement an error correctioncircuit (ECC) on chip. A data masking signal may be input to the memorydevice in synchronization with the transmission of a portion of thewrite data to be masked in the memory device. To support high speed dataprocessing, it is necessary for a memory device to process commandsinput to the memory device at high speed.

FIG. 15 is a timing diagram illustrating the operation of a conventionalmemory device or memory system of the related art. A comparativediscussion of FIG. 15 is provided herein below.

SUMMARY

Aspects of inventive concept provide a memory device, a memory system,and a method of operating the same, that can reduce response time for acommand. A method and structure for determining whether a write commandis a normal write command or a Read Modify Write command uponapplication of the write command are provided. According to variousexemplary embodiments of the inventive concept, time loss that may occurwhen implementing the ECC circuit having a data masking DM function onchip can be prevented. According to various exemplary embodiments of theinventive concept, a write operation is performed without a conventionallapse of pre-reading time conventionally required for data masking ifthe execution of the data masking is not commanded.

According to an aspect of the inventive concept, there is provided amemory device including: a memory cell array including a plurality ofmemory cells; a write command determination unit which determineswhether a write command input to the memory device is (to be)accompanied by a masking signal and produces a first control signal ifthe input write command is/will be accompanied by a masking signal; adata modulation unit which combines a portion of read data read from thememory cell array with a portion of input write data corresponding tothe write command and generates modulation data in response to the firstcontrol signal; and an error correction code (ECC) engine whichgenerates parity of the modulation data.

The write command determination unit may determine whether an inputcommand is a write command at all based on a signal applied to at leastone first pin of the memory device and determines whether the writecommand is (to be) accompanied by a masking signal (e.g., whether thewrite command is a Read Modify Right command) based on a signal appliedto a second pin thereof, (e.g., prior to actual receipt of a maskingsignal).

According to an aspect of the inventive concept, there is provided amemory system including a memory device and a memory controller forapplying a write command to the memory device. The memory deviceincludes: a memory cell array including a plurality of memory cells; awrite command determination unit which determines whether a writecommand applied to the memory device is/will be accompanied a maskingsignal and produces a first control signal if the input write commandis/will be accompanied by a masking signal; a data modulation unit whichcombines a portion of read data read from the memory cell array with aportion of input write data corresponding to the write command andgenerates modulation data in response to the first control signal; andan ECC engine which generates parity of the modulation data.

According to an aspect of the inventive concept, there is provided amemory device including: a wide input/output (I/O) interface forreceiving write data and a write command; a write command determinationunit which determines whether the write command is a Read Modify Write(RMW) command based on a signal applied to a command/address (CA) pin inthe wide I/O interface; a data modulation unit which, if the writecommand is an RMW command, generates modulation data by masking a firstportion of the write data and substituting a first portion of read dataread from a memory cell array; an ECC engine which generates parity ofthe modulation data; and a writing unit which writes the modulation unitand the parity to the memory cell array.

According to an aspect of the inventive concept, there is provided amobile apparatus having a memory device which includes: a memory cellarray including a plurality of memory cells; a write commanddetermination unit which determines whether an input write command is(to be) accompanied by a masking signal and produces a first controlsignal if the input write command is accompanied by a masking signal; adata modulation unit which generates modulation data in response to thefirst control signal by combining a portion of read data read from thememory cell array with a portion of input write data corresponding tothe write command; and an ECC engine which generates parity of themodulation data.

According to an aspect of the inventive concept, there is provided amethod of writing data in a memory device including an. ECC engine,which includes: receiving a write command and first data to be writtento a memory cell array of the memory device in response to the writecommand; determining whether a data masking signal which dictatesmasking of a portion of the first data shall accompany the writecommand; reading second data stored in a region of the memory cell arraycorresponding to the address specified in the write command if the writecommand shall be accompanied by a data masking signal; generating thirddata by using the first data and the second data according to the datamasking signal; and encoding an ECC parity value of the third data byusing the ECC engine.

According to an aspect of the inventive concept, there is provided amethod of writing data in a memory device including an ECC engine, whichincludes: receiving a write command and first data to be written to amemory cell array of the memory device in response to the write command;receiving a data masking signal; generating third data corresponding tothe data masking signal by combining the first data with second datastored in a region of the memory cell array corresponding to the addressspecified in the write command; and writing the third data to the regionof the memory cell array corresponding to the address specified in thewrite command, wherein a column select signal for reading the seconddata from the memory cell array is activated before reception of thedata masking signal.

The exemplary embodiments of the inventive concept will now be describedmore fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings.These embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thoroughand complete and will fully convey the exemplary embodiments to those ofordinary skill in the art. The exemplary embodiments may, however, beembodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limitedto the embodiments set forth herein. It should be understood that theexemplary embodiments described therein should be not considered forpurposes of limitation, and the present invention should be construed asincluding all the changes, equivalents, and substitutions included inthe spirit and scope thereof. Like numerals denote like elementsthroughout. In the drawings, the dimensions of structures areexaggerated or reduced for clarity as compared to their actual sizes.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of exemplaryembodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” areintended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which exemplary embodiments belong. Itwill be further understood that terms, such as those defined incommonly-used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaningthat is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant artand will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal senseunless expressly so defined herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments of the inventive concept will be more clearlyunderstood from the following detailed description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a memory device according to an exemplaryembodiment of the inventive concept, and FIG. 1B is a flowchart of amethod of writing data in the memory device of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a memory system including the memory MDEVdevice of FIG. 1A according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventiveconcept;

FIG. 3 is a graph illustrating the timing relationship between clocksignal, command, and address signals that are applied to the memorydevice of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 4 is a table illustrating an example in which the write commandshown in FIG. 1 is a Read Modify Write (RMW) command;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram labeled to illustrate the operation of thememory device of FIG. 1A when the write command is a RMW command;

FIG. 6 is a timing diagram for a RMW command in the operationillustrated in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data masking operationaccording to a RMW command;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram labeled to illustrate an exemplaryimplementation of the data modulation unit shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a table illustrating an example in which the write commandshown in FIG. 1 is a normal write command;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating the operation of the memorydevice of FIG. 1A when the write command is a normal write command;

FIG. 11 is a timing diagram illustrating the normal write command in thememory device illustrated in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating another example in which thewrite command shown in FIG. 1 is set to a RMW command;

FIG. 13 is a table illustrating an example in which the write command isthe RMW command shown in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a timing diagram illustrating the operation of the memorydevice of FIG. 12 according to a RMW command;

FIG. 15 is a timing diagram illustrating an operation in a memory deviceor memory system of the related art which is compared to a memory deviceor memory system according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventiveconcept;

FIGS. 16A through 16C are block diagrams illustrating examples ofimplementations of a data modulation unit and an error correction code(ECC) engine in memory devices according to exemplary embodiments of theinventive concept;

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating another example ofimplementation of a data modulation unit and an ECC engine in a memorydevice according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 18A is a block diagram of a memory device MDEV according to anotherexemplary embodiment of the inventive concept, and FIG. 18B is aflowchart of a method of writing data in the memory device MDEV of FIG.18A.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a memory system according to an exemplaryembodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 20 is a block diagram of a memory system according to an exemplaryembodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 21 is a block diagram of a mobile device including a memory deviceaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 22 is a view of a memory device according to an exemplaryembodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 23 is a block diagram of a memory system according to an exemplaryembodiment of the inventive concept; and

FIG. 24 is a block diagram of a computing system equipped with a memorydevice according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a memory device MDEV according to anexemplary embodiment of the inventive concept, and FIG. 1B is aflowchart of a method of writing data in the memory device MDEV of FIG.1A according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept.Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, the memory device MDEV includes a memorycell array MA, a write command determination unit WAU, a data modulationunit DMU, and an ECC engine ECC.

The memory device MDEV is preferably a Dynamic Random Access Memory(DRAM) device. The memory cell array MA includes a plurality of memorycells (not shown), each having a memory cell capacitor (not shown). Thevalue of each data bit stored is indicated by the amount of an electriccharge stored in the corresponding memory cell capacitor. To maintainthe charge stored in the cell capacitor, the memory device MDEV performsa periodic refresh operation or a refresh operation automatically inresponse to receiving any command.

When a write command WCMD for writing write data WDTA is supplied to thememory device MDEV (S110), electric charges corresponding to the writedata WDTA are applied to the cell capacitors in the region of the memorycell array specified by an address accompanying the write command WCMD.A memory controller MCtrl shown in FIG. 2 transmits the write commandWCMD and the like.

For convenience of explanation, FIGS. 1A and 1B are commonly referred toas FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 illustrates a memory system including the memory device MDEV ofFIG. 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept.Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the memory system MSYS according to theexemplary embodiment includes the memory controller MCtrl and the memorydevice MDEV.

The memory controller MCtrl provides various control signals to thememory device MDEV and controls the operation of the memory device MDEV.For example, the memory controller MCtrl supplies the write command WCMDand other commands to the memory device MDEV. The commands that thememory controller MCtrl sends to the memory device MDEV include thewrite command WCMD, a read command for reading read data RDTA from thememory cell array MA, and a refresh command for refreshing a memory cellwhen the memory device MDEV includes DRAM cells. The memory controllerMCtrl also sends addresses with the commands to the memory device MDEVto thereby access memory cell array MA.

For low power, high speed operation, the memory device MDEV or thememory system MSYS according to the exemplary embodiment may furtherinclude a common command/address bus CAB and a common command/addresspin CAp# for providing commands and addresses to the memory device MDEVfrom the memory controller MCtrl. For example, the memory device MDEV orthe memory system MSYS according to the exemplary embodiment may beimplemented as a Low Power Double Data Rate (LPDDR) DRAM device or LPDDRDRAM system. The command/address bus CAB and the command/address pinCAp# are hereinafter referred to as a CA bus and a CA pin, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 3, the memory controller MCtrl transferscommands/addresses CMD/Addr and addresses Addr on rising and fallingedges of a clock signal CK, respectively. For example, the address Addrbeing transmitted with the command CMD on the rising edge of the clocksignal CK may include an upper address such as a bank address. The clocksignal CK and an inverted clock signal CKB may be generated together ascontinuous alternating inverted signals. Thus, when the CA bus CABconsists of n-bit command/address bus, where n is a natural number,2n-bit command/address signals CA may be provided to the memory deviceMDEV.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the memory controller MCtrl can transmitvarious control signals for controlling the memory device MDEV inaddition to commands. For example, the memory controller MCtrl may senda chip select signal, a clock signal, and a masking signal xDM tocommand pins CSp, CKp, and DMp of the memory device MDEV throughcorresponding ones of control signal lines CLIN.

Write data WDTA and read data RDTA can be transferred over a DQ bus DTBconnecting between the memory controller MCtrl and the memory deviceMDEV. For example, when the unit of data transfer from and to the memorydevice MDEV is x32 (DQ[31:0]), the number of DQ pins DQp# may be 32.Alternatively, when the unit of data transfer from and to the memorydevice MDEV is X16(DQ[15:0]), the number of DQ pins DQp# may be 16.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the write command determination unit WAUdetermines whether a write command WCMD input into the memory deviceMDEV is the first write command accompanying a masking signal xDM andproduces a first control signal xcon1 (S120 in FIG. 1B) according tothat determination. Masking is the process of restricting processing ofdata in a predetermined bit-range. Once a signal for controlling amasking operation is enabled for designated bits, data is not writtenfor those bits even if a write command for writing the data is enabled.As a result of masking, the bits of already (e.g., previously) storeddata in the predetermined bit-range indicated by masking signal xDM arenot disturbed nor changed by the current write command accompanying amasking signal xDM. The masking signal xDM dictates masking of a portionof write data WDTA as described above and can be transmitted from thememory controller MCtrl.

The first write command accompanying a masking signal xDM may be denotedas a Read Modify Write (RMW) command, in the sense that the bits ofalready (e.g., previously) stored data outside of the predeterminedbit-range indicated by masking signal xDM are modified by the currentdata. The masking signal xDM can be applied to the memory device MDEV ata different point in time than the first write command. For example, themasking signal xDM may be synchronized to receipt of a portion of thewrite data WDTA to be masked and applied to the memory device MDEV. Themasking signal may be input to the memory device in synchronization withtransmission of a portion of the write data to be masked in the memorydevice. The masking signal xDM will be described in more detail below.An example in which the write command shown in FIG. 1 is a RMW commandin step S120 is now described in more detail.

FIG. 4 is a table illustrating an example in which the write commandshown in FIG. 1 is a RMW command, and FIG. 5 illustrates an operation ofthe memory device MDEV of FIG. 1 when the write command is a RMWcommand. Referring to FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, when logic levels of a clocksignal CK and an inverted chip select signal /CS applied to command pinsof the memory device MDEV according to the exemplary embodiment arelogic high H and logic low L, respectively, and a command is input intothe memory device MDEV, the write command determination unit WAUdetermines that the command is a write command WCMD based on a signalapplied to at least one first pin of the memory device MDEV shown inFIG. 2. The write command determination unit WAU then determines thatthe write command WCMD is a RMW command based on a signal applied to asecond pin of the memory device MDEV shown in FIG. 2.

For example, the at least one first pin may be at least one CA pin CAp#,and the second pin may be one of the remaining CA pins CAp#. The atleast one first pin may be first through third CA pins CA0 CA1 and CA2for receiving a row address strobe signal, a write enable signal, and acolumn address strobe signal, respectively, and the second pin may be afourth CA pin CA3. As described above, the command may be applied to thememory device MDEV during a rising edge of the clock signal CK.

When logic levels of signals applied to the first through third CA pinsCA0, CA1, and CA2 at the rising edge of the clock signal CK are logichigh H, logic low L, and logic low L, respectively, as shown in FIG. 4,the write command determination unit WAU determines that a write commandWCMD is applied from the memory controller MCtrl shown in FIG. 2. Also alogic level of a signal that is applied to the fourth CA pin CA3. Forexample, if the signal applied to the fourth CA pin CA3 is at a logiclow L level under the above conditions, the write command determinationunit WAU determines that the write command WCMD is a RMW commandrequesting masking of a portion of write data WDTA and generates a firstcontrol signal xcon1 (shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. 5).

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the operation of the memorydevice of FIG. 1A when the write command is a RMW command. The firstcontrol signal xcon1 is applied to the memory cell array MA and to thedata modulation unit DMU. Although FIG. 1A and FIG. 5 shows that thefirst control signal xcon1 is applied directly to the memory cell arrayMA, the first control signal xcon1 may be transported to a functionblock for reading data, such as a control logic (not shown) and a columndecoder (not shown), so as to control reading of read data RDTA from thememory cell array MA (S130). A column select signal for reading readdata RDTA from the memory cell array MA may be activated in response tothe first control signal xcon1.

The read data RDTA may be data previously written to the addresscorresponding to the write command WCMD. For example, if the writecommand WCMD indicates that write data WDTA is to be currently writtento a first location of the memory cell array MA, the read data RDTA mayhave been previously written to the same first location. In this case,the column select signal is used to select the columns (bit lines)coupled to the first location. The read data RDTA can be sensed from thecolumns (bit lines) of the memory cell array MA that are selected inresponse to the column select signal.

FIG. 6 is a timing diagram for a RMW command in the operationillustrated in FIG. 5. Referring to FIG. 6, while signals applied to thefirst through third CA pins CA0 through CA2 are at logic high H level,logic low L level, and logic low L level, respectively, and while asignal applied to the fourth CA pin CA3 is at a logic low L level, thewrite command determination unit WAU determines that the write commandWCMD is a RMW command that requests masking of a portion of write dataWDTA and generates the first control signal xcon1. A column selectsignal CSL_R for reading data is then activated in response to the firstcontrol signal xcon1 regardless of activation of a masking signal xDM.

When the write command WCMD is a RMW command, the memory device MDEVaccording to the exemplary embodiment activates a column select signalCSL_R for reading read data RDTA regardless of activation of a maskingsignal xDM, thereby reducing the time taken to execute a RMW command,e.g., to read out read data RDTA.

When the above operation is performed to read out read data RDTA, thedata modulation unit DMU generates modulation data in response to thefirst control signal xcon1_(S140). FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating anexample of a data masking operation according to the RMW commandillustrated in FIG. 5. Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the data modulationunit DMU combines a section of the read data RDTA read from the memorycell array with a section of the write data WDTA to generate modulationdata MDTA. For example, when the masking signal xDM dictates masking ofall of a second section SEC2 of the write data WDTA, the data modulationunit DMU combines the second section SEC2 of the read data RDTA as thesecond section SEC2 of the write data WDTA to generate modulation dataMDTA. A portion of read data RDTA in a section (e.g., SEC 2 containingdata value VAUb) and a portion of write data WDTA correspond to theother sections (e.g., other than SEC 2) shown in FIG. 7, respectivelyare combined to generate modulation data MDTA (e.g., containing datavalue VAUb in its SEC 2). The section size (bit-size) may be thesmallest encoding unit (error correction unit) of the ECC engine ECC.

As shown in FIG. 6, the masking signal xDM is synchronized to a section(e.g., section DIN1) of input write data WDTA to be masked and thenapplied to the memory device MDEV or the data modulation unit DMU. Whenthe masking signal xDM is applied to the memory device MDEV uponreceiving data DIN1 so as to instruct masking of the data DIN1, themasking signal xDM may be at a logic high H level. The masking signalxDM may be applied to one pin DMp of the command pins shown in FIG. 2.

The data modulation unit DMU may need to hold information about themasking signal xDM until the read data RDTA is read after applying themasking signal to the pin DMp. For example, the read data RDTA may betransmitted to the data modulation unit DMU after a lapse of apredetermined number of clocks from the activation of the column selectsignal CSL_R for reading as shown in FIG. 6. Specifically, the read dataRDTA may be sent to the data modulation unit DMU after the lapse of thetime taken for a sense amplifier to sense data of a memory cellconnected to a selected column (bit line) and the time taken to transmitread data via a signal line. Thus, the data modulation unit DMU may beconfigured as shown in FIG. 8 to maintain (or buffer) information aboutthe masking signal xDM until receiving the corresponding read data RDTA.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary implementation of the data modulationunit DMU shown in FIG. 5. Referring to FIGS. 5 and 8, the datamodulation unit DMU includes a holding unit HU and a data masking unitMU. The holding unit HU receives a masking signal xDM and holds it untilthe data modulation unit DMU receives read data RDTA. To accomplishthis, the holding unit HU includes a register REG for storing the inputmasking signal xDM and a counter CNT for counting the number of clocksignals CK that are applied to the data modulation unit DMU. Forexample, assuming that the read data RDTA will be transmitted to thedata modulation unit DMU upon the lapse of 8 clocks after the maskingsignal xDM is stored in the register REG, the stored read data RDTA istransmitted to the masking unit MU when the number of clock signals CKcounted by the counter CNT reaches 8. The masking unit MU receives themasking signal xDM from the holding unit HU and combines a section ofthe read data RDTA with a section of the write data WDTA to therebygenerate modulation data MDTA.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 7, each of the write data WDTA, the read dataRDTA, and the modulation data MDTA is divided into m sections where m isa positive integer. A section bit-size may be the same bit-size as thesmallest encoding unit (error correction unit) of the ECC engine ECC.For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, each of the write data WDTA, theread data RDTA, and the modulation data MDTA may be classified intoerror correction units, i.e., sections SEC1 through SECm.

The unit of error correction by the ECC engine ECC may be equal to theunit of masking. The unit of masking may refer to the smallest unit inwhich the data modulation unit DMU masks the write data WDTA. Forexample, when the memory device MDEV according to the exemplaryembodiment operates in a burst mode for x number bits of data, x datamay be input as write data WDTA in response to one write command WCMD.When the unit of data transfer from and to the memory device MDEV is x32(DQ[31:0]), each data carries 4 bytes (one byte=eight bits), and thewrite data WDTA has a size of 4×. Alternatively, when the unit of datatransfer from and to the memory device MDEV is x16(DQ[15:0]), each datacarries 2 bytes, and the write data WDTA has a size of 2×. Each section,which is the smallest masking unit, may have a length of any number ofbytes. For example, the section may have a length of 1 byte, 2 bytes, or4 bytes or the same length as that of the write date WDTA.Alternatively, the masking unit may have a length of any number of bits.For example, the masking unit may have a length of 1 bit or 2 bits. Theunit of error correction by the ECC engine ECC may be larger than themasking unit. Even if the error correction unit is different from themasking unit, the data masking operation illustrated in FIG. 7 may beperformed for each error correction unit.

Referring to FIG. 1, the ECC engine ECC encodes modulation data MDTA toproduce parity PRTm of the modulation data MDTA in response to the firstcontrol signal xcon1 (step S150 in FIG. 1B). The ECC engine ECC mayperform various well-known functions related to error detection andcorrection. For example, the ECC engine ECC can perform ECC encoding togenerate parity during a data write operation, or perform ECC decodingto correct error bits in read data during a data read operation. In oneembodiment, the ECC engine ECC may include an ECC encoder (not shown)that generates parity data, an error detector (not shown) that detectsthe number of error bits in read data (or in a codeword containing dataand its parity), and an error corrector (not shown) that corrects theerror bits.

The ECC engine ECC may perform the above operations such as encoding,decoding, and correction using hamming codes. The ECC engine ECC mayperform the encoding and decoding operations in any unit of data, and asdescribed above, the unit of error correction by the ECC engine ECC maybe equal to or larger than the unit of masking by the data modulationunit DMU. The ECC engine ECC performs an ECC operation on the modulationdata MDTA where a portion of the write data WDTA required for maskinghas been modulated, thereby preventing occurrence of errors during ECCencoding and ECC decoding of the write data WDTA due to the requiredportion of the write data WDTA. For example, performing ECC encodingonly on the masked portion of write data WDTA may result in an error inparity. Likewise, ECC decoding and error correction of only the maskedportion of write data WDTA may suffer from an error in parity.

When parity PRTm of the modulation data MDTA is generated by the ECCengine ECC, the modulation data MDTA and its parity PRTm are then storedin the memory cell array MA (S160). In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, acolumn select signal CSL_W for selecting a column (bit line) indicatedby an address corresponding to write command WCMD and performing a writeoperation is activated. For example, the modulation data MDTA may bewritten to a user data area (not shown) of the memory cell array MAwhile the parity PRTm of the modulation data MDTA may be written to aparity region (not shown) thereof. Once the modulation data MDTA iswritten to the memory cell array MA, the memory device MDEV can transmita response to the write command WCMD to the memory controller MCtrlshown in FIG. 2 to notify the memory controller MCtrl of the executionof the write command WCMD.

Referring back to FIG. 1, when the write command WCMD input into thememory device MDEV is a second write command that does not accompany themasking signal xDM in step S120, the write command determination unitWAU generates a second control signal xcon2. The second write commandmay hereinafter be called a ‘normal write command’.

FIG. 9 is a table showing an example in which the write command shown inFIG. 1 is a normal write command. FIG. 10 is a block diagram labeled toillustrate the operation of the memory device MDEV of FIG. 1A when thewrite command is a normal write command. Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10,when logic levels of a clock signal CK and an inverted chip selectsignal /CS applied to command pins of the memory device MDEV accordingto the exemplary embodiment are logic high H and logic low L,respectively, and a command is input into the memory device MDEV, thewrite command determination unit WAU determines that the command is awrite command WCMD based on a signal applied to at least one first pinof the memory device MDEV shown in FIG. 2. The write commanddetermination unit WAU then determines that the write command WCMD is anormal write command based on a signal applied to a second pin of thememory device MDEV shown in FIG. 2.

For example, the at least one first pin may be at least one CA pin CAp#,and the second pin may be one of the remaining CA pins CAp#. The atleast one first pin may be first through third CA pins CA0, CA1, CA2 forreceiving a row address strobe signal, a write enable signal, and acolumn address strobe signal, respectively, and the second pin may be afourth CA pin CA3. As described above, the command may be applied to thememory device MDEV at a rising edge of the clock signal CK.

For example, when logic levels of signals applied to the first throughthird CA pins CA0 through CA2 at the rising edge of the clock signal CKare logic high H, logic low L, and logic low L, respectively, as shownin FIG. 9, the write command determination unit WAU determines that awrite command WCMD is applied from the memory controller MCtrl shown inFIG. 2 and then a logic level of a signal which is applied to the fourthCA pin CA3. For example, if the signal applied to the fourth CA pin CA3is at a logic high H level under the above conditions, the write commanddetermination unit WAU generates a second control signal xcon2 so thatthe write data WDTA is written to the memory cell array MA without beingmodulated.

The ECC engine ECC encodes write data WDTA to produce parity PRTw of thewrite data WDTA in response to the second control signal xcon2 (stepS170 of FIG. 1B). Since the ECC engine performs the same operation asits operation on the modulation data MDTA described above, a redundantdescription thereof is not repeated. When the parity PRTw of the writedata WDTA is generated by the ECC engine ECC, the write data WDTA andits parity PRTw are then stored in the memory cell array MA (step S180of FIG. 1B)

FIG. 11 is a timing diagram for performing a normal write command in thememory device MDEV of FIGS. 1A and 10. Referring to FIG. 11, after alapse of a predetermined time from the application of signals to thefirst through fourth CA pins CA0 through CA4, a column select signalCSL_W (for selecting a column (bit line) indicated by an addresscorresponding to write command WCMD and performing a write operation) isactivated immediately without waiting for an activation of the maskingsignal xDM, For example, the write data WDTA may be written to a userdata area (not shown) of the memory cell array MA while the parity PRTwof the write data WDTA may be written to a parity region (not shown)thereof. Once the write data WDTA is written to the memory cell arrayMA, the memory device MDEV can transmit a response to the write commandWCMD to the memory controller MCtrl shown in FIG. 2 to notify the memorycontroller MCtrl of the execution of the write command WCMD.

As described above, if the write command WCMD is a normal write command,the memory device MDEV according to the exemplary embodiment performs awrite operation without causing a separate delay for determining whetherthe masking signal xDM is activated. While the write commanddetermination unit WAU has been described above as identifying a writecommand WCMD and a RMW command using CA pins, it may identify a writecommand WCMD by using CA pins and identify a RMW command by usingadditional command pins as described below.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a memory system illustrating anotherexample in which the write command WCMD shown in FIG. 1 is set to a RMWcommand; FIG. 13 is a table illustrating an example in which the writecommand WCMD is a RMW command shown in FIG. 12. Referring to FIGS. 1,12, and 13, when logic levels of a clock signal CK and an inverted chipselect signal /CS applied to command pins of the memory device MDEVaccording to the exemplary embodiment are logic high H and logic low L,respectively, and a command is input into the memory device MDEV, thewrite command determination unit WAU determines whether the command is awrite command WCMD based on a signal applied to at least one first pinof the memory device MDEV shown in FIG. 12. The write commanddetermination unit WAU then determines whether the write command WCMD isa RMW command based on a signal applied to a second pin of the memorydevice MDEV shown in FIG. 12.

For example, the at least one first pin may be at least one CA pin CAp#,and the second pin may not be any CA pins CAp# but may be a dedicatedcommand pin RMWp deployed on the memory device MDEV, provided inaddition to the command pins CSp CKp, and DMp of the memory device MDEVshown in FIG. 2. The at least one first pin may be first through thirdCA pins CA0, CA1, CA2 for receiving a row address strobe signal, a writeenable signal, and a column address strobe signal, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 13, a signal applied to the dedicated command pin RMWpis at a logic high H level, and a command received from the memorycontroller is applied to the memory device MDEV at a rising edge of theclock signal CK. In the example shown in FIG. 13, a fourth CA pin CA3may not be defined (RFU: Reserved Future Use) although it is set tologic high H and logic low L levels in the examples shown in FIGS. 4 and9, respectively.

FIG. 14 is a timing diagram illustrating the operation of the memorydevice MDEV shown in FIG. 12 according to a RMW command. Referring toFIGS. 1, 12, and 14, when logic levels of signals applied to the firstthrough third CA pins CA0 through CA2 at the rising edge of the clocksignal CK are logic high H, logic low L, and logic low L, respectively,the write command determination unit WAU shown in FIG. 1 determines thata write command WCMD is applied from the memory controller MCtrl; and alogic level of a RMW indication signal which is applied to the commandpin RMWp is detected. For example, if the signal applied to the commandpin RMWp is detected at a logic high H level under the above conditions,the write command determination unit WAU determines that the writecommand WCMD is a RMW command and generates a first control signalxcon1. A control select signal CSL_R for reading read data RDTA from thememory cell array MA is activated in response to the first controlsignal xcon1. Upon completion of an ECC operation on modulation dataMDTA, a column select signal CSL_W for writing the modulation data MDTAto the memory cell array MA is activated.

FIG. 15 is a timing diagram illustrating an operation in a memory deviceor memory system of the related art which is to be compared to a memorydevice MDEV or memory system according to the exemplary embodiment.Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the memory device MDEV of FIG. 1 or memorysystem of FIG. 2 according to the exemplary embodiment determineswhether the write command WCMD is a RMW command or a normal writecommand and performs operations optimized for the determination result.For example, as shown in FIG. 11, when a command applied to the memorydevice MDEV is the normal write command, the memory device MDEVactivates a column select signal CSL_W for a write operation withoutwaiting for activation of a masking signal xDM. When the normal writecommand is received, the column select signal CSL_W for a writeoperation is activated immediately after a required predetermined timeis delayed. However, unlike in the memory device MDEV or memory systemaccording to the exemplary embodiment, in the conventional memory deviceor memory system the operation of which is described with reference toFIG. 15, when a write command is applied under the conditions CA0=H &CA1=L & CA2=L (as shown in FIG. 13), the conventional memory device MDEVor memory system waits for a mask signal xDM regardless of whether thewrite command is a RMW command or a normal write command. This canunnecessarily delay the time point at which a column select signal CSL_Rfor reading read data RDTA from the memory cell array MA is activated,thereby increasing the conventional response time for a normal writecommand. In the conventional memory device MDEV or memory system,generation of the masking signal xDM is determined before executing thenormal command, which is unnecessarily time consuming.

In particular, when the masking signal xDM is activated at a time pointwhen the last data signal DINx-1 of the write data WDTA is input asshown in FIG. 15, a column select signal CSL_R for a read operation isthen activated so that read data RDTA is applied to a data modulationunit DMU. After performing an ECC operation on modulation data MDTA, acolumn select signal CSL_W for a write operation is activated, and thewrite operations is performed. Thus, the write operation may becompleted after a considerable lapse of time after application of thewrite command WCMD. To prevent this problem in a conventional memorydevice MDEV or memory system a column select signal CSL_R for a readoperation may be activated unnecessarily upon application of the writecommand WCMD, which may unnecessarily increase power consumption.

FIGS. 16A through 16C illustrate examples of implementations of a datamodulation unit DMU and an ECC engine ECC in memory devices MDEVsaccording to exemplary embodiments of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and FIGS. 16A through 16C, each of the memorydevices MDEVs according to the exemplary embodiments of the inventiveconcept includes pins P1 for receiving commands/addresses CMD/Addr at afirst side and pins P2 for receiving data DQ at a second (e.g.,opposite) side. While FIGS. 16A through 16C show that the memory cellarray MA shown in FIG. 1 is divided into four banks BA1 through BA4 forpurposes of illustration, the inventive concept is not limited thereto.Each of the four banks BA1 through BA4 may include a normal data areaNDA for storing the write data WDTA or the modulation data MDTA and aparity area PDA for storing parities PRTw and PRTm. A row decoder RDEC,a column decoder CDEC, and a sense amplifier SA may be provided for eachof the four banks BA1 through BA4. However, all or some of the rowdecoder RDEC, the column decoder CDEC, and the sense amplifier SA may beshared by at least two of the banks BA1 through BA4.

For example, the data modulation unit DMU according to the exemplaryembodiment may be located between the pins P2 for receiving data DQ andthe banks BA1 and BA3 adjacent to the pins P2. Furthermore, signal linesover which data to be read or written is transferred or bussed may beconcentrated between the banks BA1 and BA3. The memory device MDEV isconfigured to have the data modulation unit DMU disposed at a regionwhere bussing is concentrated, thereby reducing current dissipation orthe time taken to transmit or receive read data RDTA, write data WDTA,and modulation data MDTA within the memory device MDEV. The ECC engineECC according to the exemplary embodiment may also be disposed betweenthe P2 and the banks BA1 through BA3, so that the time taken to transmitor receive the above data or power consumption may be reduced.

While FIG. 16A shows that the memory device MDEV includes one datamodulation unit DMU and one ECC engine ECC, the inventive concept is notlimited thereto. As shown in FIG. 16B or 16C, the memory device MDEV mayinclude at least two data modulation units DMU or ECC engines ECCsprovided for different banks BA1 through BA4. For example, in the memorydevice MDEV of FIG. 16B, a first data modulation unit DMU1 may determinethe type of write commands for the banks BA1 and BA2 while a second datamodulation unit DMU2 may determine the type of write commands for thebanks BA3 and BA4. The ECC engine ECC may be shared by the first andsecond data modulation units DMU1 and DMU2 as shown in FIG. 16B or aseparate ECC engine may be provided for each of them. According to theexemplary embodiments of the inventive concept, the data modulation unitDMU or the ECC engine ECC is provided for each or some of the banks BA1through BA4, thereby allowing fast response to the write command.However, the inventive concept is not limited thereto.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an implementationof a data modulation unit DMU and an ECC engine ECC in a memory deviceMDEV according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept.Referring to FIG. 17, the data modulation unit DMU and the ECC engineECC are disposed at a peri region (i.e., peripheral to one or morememory cell regions) centrally positioned on the chip. The peri regionmay also have data signal lines or bussing concentrated thereon. WhileFIG. 17 illustrates the data modulation unit DMU and the ECC engine ECCare disposed between column decoders CDEC and a sense amplifier SAshared by the banks BA2 and B4 and column decoders CDEC and a senseamplifier SA shared by the banks BA1 and B3, the inventive concept isnot limited thereto. The data modulation unit DMU and the ECC engine ECCmay be disposed any other peri region where signal lines areconcentrated according to the design requirements.

FIG. 18A is a block diagram of a memory device MDEV according to anexemplary embodiment of the inventive concept, and FIG. 18B is aflowchart of a method of writing data in the memory device MDEV of FIG.18A. Referring to FIGS. 18A and 18B, unlike the memory device MDEV ofFIG. 1, the memory device MDEV according to this exemplary embodimentcan perform additional ECC decoding and error correction on read dataRDTA when write command WCMD is a RMW command and the read data RDTA isread (step S190 of FIG. 18B). For example, for a memory device or memorysystem requiring a higher level of reliability, error checking isperformed on the read data RDTA before a write operation. A datamodulation unit DMU modulates the read data RDTA and the write data WDTAis subjected to the error correction by the ECC engine ECC in the manneras described above and generates modulation data MDTA (step S140′ ofFIG. 18B). Other steps S110, S120, S130, S150, S160, S170 and S180 inthe method of FIG. 18B are performed the same as these steps areperformed in the method FIG. 1B.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a memory system MSYS according to anexemplary embodiment, of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 19, the memory system MSYS includes a memory moduleMMD and a memory controller MCtrl. The memory module MMD includes atleast one (e.g., a plurality of) memory device(s) MDEV mounted on amodule board. For example, the memory device MDEV may be a DRAM chip.Each of the memory device(s) MDEV may have a configuration and operationaccording to one of the above exemplary embodiments of the inventiveconcept.

The memory controller MCtrl outputs various signals for controlling thememory devices MDEVs in the memory module MMD. For example, the memorycontroller MCtrl can output various command/address signals (CA signals)for operation of a memory and other control signals. The memorycontroller MCtrl can apply a CA signal for instructing a RMW command toa fourth CA pin of the memory device MDEV at a logic low L level.Alternatively, although not shown in FIG. 19, a RMW indication signaldescribed above may be applied to a dedicated command pin of the memorydevice MDEV. Each of the memory devices MDEVs includes a write commanddetermination unit WAU, a data modulation unit DMU, and an ECC engineECC and is configured to determine whether an applied write command WCMDis a RMW command or a normal write command and to perform a writeoperation in a time or power optimized for the as-determined writecommand.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram of a memory system MSYS according to anexemplary embodiment of the inventive concept. Referring to FIG. 20, thememory system MSYS according to the exemplary embodiment includes amemory controller MCtrl and a memory device MDEV. The memory device MDEVincludes a write command determination unit, a data modulation unit, andan ECC engine and is configured to determine whether an applied writecommand WCMD is a RMW command or a normal write command and to perform awrite operation in a time or power optimized for the as-determined writecommand. For example, the memory device MDEV may be a LPDDR DRAMadopting a wide input/output (I/O) interface, and the memory controllerMCtrl may include a wide I/O controller so as to communicate with thememory device MDEV via the wide I/O interface. In the memory system MSYSof FIG. 20, the wide I/O interface can support 4 128-bit channels andoperate at 1.2 V power and transfer rate of 2133 Mtps.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram of a mobile device MBDEV including a memorydevice MDEV according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventiveconcept.

Referring to FIG. 21, the mobile device MBDEV according to the exemplaryembodiment includes a display unit DSU acting as a user interface, aninput unit IU such as a keypad or touch screen for receiving input froma user, a power supply unit PSU for controlling supply of power into themobile device MBDEV, and a system on-chip SoC. The mobile device MBDEVmay be implemented as various devices such as mobile phones, smartphones, audio devices such as MP3 players, notebooks, and table PCs. Themobile device MBDEV may further include components which perform othervarious functions.

The system on-chip SoC includes a memory device MDEV and/or a memorysystem MSYS according to one or more exemplary embodiments of theinventive concept. The memory device MDEV includes a write commanddetermination unit, an ECC engine, and a data modulation unit whichdetermine whether or not an applied write command WCMD is a RMW commandand perform a write operation in a time or power optimized for theas-determined write command.

FIG. 22 is a view of a memory device MDEV according to an exemplaryembodiment of the inventive concept. The memory device MDEV according tothe exemplary embodiment has a plurality of semiconductor layers LA1through LAn stacked therein.

Each of the semiconductor layers LA1 through LAn may be a DRAM chipincluding DRAM cells. Alternatively, some of the plurality ofsemiconductor layers LA1 through LAn are master chips for performinginterfacing with an external controller while the remainingsemiconductor layers may be slave chips comprising at least one memorycell array for storing data. It is assumed herein that the lowermostsemiconductor layer LA1 is a master chip, and that the remainingsemiconductor layers LA2 through LAn are slave chips.

The plurality of semiconductor layers LA1 through LAn transmit/receivesignals between each other by a through silicon via (TSV), and thesemiconductor layer LA1 acting as a master chip communicates with theexternal memory controller through a conductive device (not shown)disposed on an outer surface thereof. The configuration and operation ofthe memory device MDEV including the first semiconductor layer LA1 as amaster chip and the n-th semiconductor layer LAn as a slave chip are nowdescribed.

The first semiconductor layer LA1 includes various circuits for drivingmemory cell arrays MAs mounted on slave chips. For example, the firstsemiconductor layer LAn may include a row driver (X-Driver: XD) fordriving word lines of the cell arrays MAs, a column driver (Y-Driver:YD) for driving bit lines, a data I/O unit DIO for controlling input andoutput of data, and a write command determination unit WAU. To determinewhether or not a write command WCMD applied to the memory device MDEV isa RMW command and to perform a write operation in a time or poweroptimized for the as-determined write command, the first semiconductorlayer LA1 includes the write command determination unit WAU, an ECCengine ECC, and a data modulation unit DMU. Write data or modulationdata to be written to the semiconductor layers LA2 through LAn may beprovided by the first semiconductor layer LA1 through a TSV.

The n-th semiconductor layer LAn may include a memory cell array MA anda peripheral circuit area PU having peripheral circuits for driving thecell array MA such as a row/column selector for selecting rows andcolumns of the cell array MA and a bit line sense amplifier (not shown).

FIG. 23 is a block diagram of a memory system MSYS according to anexemplary embodiment of the inventive concept. The memory system MSYSaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept includesoptical links OLK1 and OLK2, a memory controller MCtrl, and a memorydevice MDEV. The memory device MDEV may be a DRAM chip.

The optical links OLK1 and OLK2 interconnect the memory controller MCtrlwith the memory device MDEV. The memory controller MCtrl includes acontrol unit CU, a first transmitter CTx, and a first receiver CRx. Thecontrol unit CU transmits a first electrical signal SN1 to the firsttransmitter CTx. The first electrical signal SN1 may include CA signals,clocking signals, address signals and data which are transmitted to thememory device MDEV.

The first transmitter CTx includes an optical modulator E/O thatconverts the first electrical signal SN1 into a first opticaltransmitting signal OTP1EC and transmits the same to the optical linkOLK1. The first optical transmitting signal OTP1EC is transmitted viathe optical link OLK1 using serial communication. The first receiver CRxincludes a first optical demodulator O/E which converts a second opticalreceiving signal OPT2OC received via the optical link OLK2 into a secondelectrical signal SN2 and transmits the same to the control unit CU.

The memory device MDEV includes a second receiver MRx, a cell array MA,and a second transmitter MTx. The second receiver MRx includes anoptical demodulator O/E which optical demodulator O/E which converts afirst optical receiving signal OPT1OC received via the optical link OLK1into the first electrical signal SN1 and transmits the same to the cellarray MA.

The cell array MA writes write data to a memory cell in response to thefirst electrical signal SN1 or transmits data read from the cell arrayMA to the second transmitter MTx as a second electrical signal SN2. Thesecond electrical signal SN2 may consist of clocking signals and readdata, which are transmitted to the memory controller MCtrl. The secondtransmitter MTx includes a second optical modulator E/O which convertsthe second electrical signal SN2 into a second optical transmittingsignal OPT2EC and transmits the same to the optical link OLK2. Thesecond optical transmitting signal OPT2EC is transmitted via the opticallink OLK2 using serial communication.

Although not shown in FIG. 23, to determine whether or not a writecommand WCMD applied to the memory device MDEV is a RMW command andperform an operation in a time or power optimized for the as-determinedwrite command, the memory device MDEV includes a write commanddetermination unit WAU, an ECC engine ECC, and a data modulation unitDMU.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram of a computing system CSYS equipped with amemory device according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventiveconcept. According to the exemplary embodiment, the memory device MDEVis a system memory and is built into the computing system CSYS which maybe implemented as a mobile equipment or as a laptop or desktop computer.The system memory MDEV has a configuration according to one or moreexemplary embodiments of the inventive concept. For example, todetermine whether an applied write command WCMD is a RMW command or not,and to perform a write operation in a time or power optimized for theas-determined write command, the system memory MDEV includes a writecommand determination unit WAU, an ECC engine ECC, and a data modulationunit DMU. Furthermore, the system memory MDEV may include a memorydevice and a memory controller.

The computing system CYS includes a processor PR, the system memoryMDEV, a user interface UI, and a storage unit ST having a nonvolatilememory, which are electrically coupled to a bus BS. The storage unit STmay be a large capacity storage device such as a solid state drive (SSD)or hard disk drive (HDD).

While the inventive concept has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understoodthat various changes in form and details may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the following claims. The scopeof the invention is defined not by the detailed description of theexemplary embodiments of the inventive concept but by the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A memory device comprising: a memory cell arrayincluding a plurality of memory cells; a write command determinationunit configured to determine whether a write command input to the memorydevice is accompanied by a masking signal and configured to produce afirst control signal if the write command is accompanied by a maskingsignal; a data modulation unit configured to generate modulation data inresponse to the first control signal by combining a portion of read dataread from the memory cell array with a corresponding portion of inputwrite data corresponding to the write command; and an error correctioncode (ECC) engine configured to generate the parity of the modulationdata.
 2. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the write commandaccompanied by a masking signal is a Read Modify Write (RMW) command. 3.The memory device of claim 1, wherein the write command determinationunit determines whether an input command is a write command based on asignal applied to at least one first pin of the memory device anddetermines whether the write command is accompanied by a masking signalbased on a signal applied to a second pin thereof.
 4. The memory deviceof claim 3, wherein the second pin is a command/address (CA) pin otherthan the at least one first pin.
 5. The memory device of claim 4,wherein the at least one first pin includes first, second and third CApins for receiving a row address strobe signal, a write enable signal,and a column address strobe signal, respectively, and the second pin isa fourth CA pin.
 6. The memory device of claim 3, wherein the at leastone first pin includes a CA pin and the second pin is a command pin. 7.The memory device of claim 1, wherein the unit of masking, being thesmallest bit-size that the data modulation unit masks the write data,has a bit-size corresponding to the bit-size of the unit of errorcorrection by the ECC engine.
 8. The memory device of claim 1, whereinthe portion of the write data and the portion of the read datarespectively have a bit-size corresponding to the smallest unit of errorcorrection by the ECC engine.
 9. The memory device of claim 1, whereinthe read data was previously written to an address corresponding to thewrite command.
 10. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the datamodulation unit comprises a holding unit configured to receive themasking signal and to hold the masking signal until the read data isread; and a masking unit configured to receive the masking signal fromthe holding unit and to replaces the portion of the write data with thecorresponding portion of the read data.
 11. The memory device of claim10, wherein the holding unit comprises a register configured to storethe masking signal and a counter configured to count the number ofclocks being applied to the data modulation unit.
 12. The memory deviceof claim 1, wherein the masking signal is input to the memory device insynchronization with transmission of the portion of the write data to bemasked in the memory device.
 13. The memory device of claim 1, whereinthe masking signal is input to the memory device in synchronization withtransmission of the portion of the write data to be masked in the memorydevice, and wherein the first control signal is activated afterreceiving the write command and before receiving the masking signal. 14.The memory device of claim 1, wherein the data modulation unit or theECC engine is disposed between a data input/output (I/O) unit of thememory device, to which the write data is input, and a bank adjacent tothe data I/O unit.
 15. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the memorycell array includes at least two banks, and wherein the data modulationunit is shared by at least two banks.
 16. The memory device of claim 1,wherein the memory cell array includes at least two banks, and whereinthe ECC engine is shared by at least two banks.
 17. The memory device ofclaim 1, wherein the data modulation unit or the ECC engine is disposedat a peri region of the memory cell array.
 18. The memory device ofclaim 1, wherein the write command determination unit generates a secondcontrol signal if the write command is a normal write command, andwherein the ECC engine generates parity of the write data in response tothe second control signal.
 19. A memory system including a memory deviceand a memory controller for applying a write command to the memorydevice, wherein the memory device comprises: a memory cell arrayincluding a plurality of memory cells; a write command determinationunit configured to determine whether a write command applied to thememory device is accompanied by a masking signal and configured toproduce a first control signal if the write command is accompanied by amasking signal; a data modulation unit configured to generate modulationdata in response to the first control signal by combining a portion ofread data read from the memory cell array with a corresponding portionof input write data corresponding to the write command; and an errorcorrection code (ECC) engine configured to generate the parity of themodulation data.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the write commanddetermination unit determines whether the write command is a writecommand based on a signal applied to at least one first pin of thememory device and determines whether the write command is accompanied bya masking signal based on a signal applied to a second pin thereof. 21.The system of claim 20, wherein the second pin is a command/address (CA)pin other than the at least one first pin.
 22. The system of claim 19,wherein the memory controller transmits the masking signal to the memorydevice in synchronization with transmission of a portion of the writedata to be masked to the memory device, and wherein the data modulationunit converts the portion of the write data to be masked to acorresponding portion of the read data in response to the maskingsignal.
 23. The system of claim 19, wherein the first control signal isactivated after receiving the write command and before receiving themasking signal.
 24. A memory device comprising: a wide input/output(I/O) interface for receiving write data and a write command; a writecommand determination unit configured to determine whether the writecommand is a Read Modify Write (RMW) command based on a signal appliedto a command/address (CA) pin in the wide I/O interface; a datamodulation unit configured to generate modulation data by replacing afirst portion of the write data with a first portion of read data readfrom a memory cell array if the write command is the RMW command; anerror correction code (ECC) engine configured to generate parity of themodulation data; and a writing unit which configured to write themodulation unit and the parity to the memory cell array.
 25. A mobileapparatus including a memory device, wherein the memory devicecomprises: a memory cell array including a plurality of memory cells; awrite command determination unit configured to determine whether aninput write command is accompanied by a masking signal and to produce afirst control signal if the input write command is accompanied by amasking signal; a data modulation unit configured to generate modulationdata in response to the first control signal by combining a portion ofread data read from the memory cell array with a portion of input writedata corresponding to the write command; and an error correction code(ECC) engine configured to generate parity of the modulation data.
 26. Amethod of writing data in a memory device including an error correctioncode (ECC) engine, the method comprising: receiving a write command andfirst data to be written to a memory cell array of the memory device inresponse to the write command; determining whether the write command isaccompanied by a data masking signal that dictates masking a portion ofthe first data; reading second data already stored in the region of thememory cell array corresponding to an address specified in the writecommand if the write command is accompanied by a data masking signal;generating third data by combining the first data and the second dataaccording to the data masking signal; and encoding an ECC parity valueof the third data by using the ECC engine.
 27. The method of claim 26,further comprising writing the third data and the ECC parity value ofthe third data to the region of the memory cell array corresponding tothe address specified in the write command.
 28. The method of claim 26,wherein in the generating of the third data, a fourth data created byexcluding a value of a masked data from the first data is combined witha data value of the second data corresponding to the masked data tothereby generate the third data.
 29. The method of claim 26, furthercomprising correcting errors in the read second data using the ECCengine, wherein in the generating of the third data, the third data isgenerated by combining the first data and the error-corrected seconddata.
 30. The method of claim 26 further comprising: if the writecommand is not accompanied by a data masking signal, performing encodingby using the ECC engine to generate an ECC parity value of the firstdata and writing the first data and the ECC parity value of the firstdata to the region of the memory cell array corresponding to the addressspecified in the write command.
 31. A method of writing data in a memorydevice including a memory cell array and an error correction code (ECC)engine, the method comprising: receiving a write command and first datato be written to the memory cell array of the memory device in responseto the write command; receiving a data masking signal accompanying thewrite command; generating third data according to the data maskingsignal by combining the first data with second data stored in the regionof the memory cell array corresponding to the address specified in thewrite command; and writing the third data to the region of the memorycell array corresponding to the address specified in the write command.32. The method of claim 31, wherein the generating of the third datacomprises reading the second data from the memory cell array andgenerating the third data by replacing a portion of the first datacorresponding to the data masking signal with a portion of the seconddata corresponding to the portion of the first data.
 33. The method ofclaim 31, further comprising encoding an ECC parity value of the thirddata by using the ECC engine.
 34. The method of claim 31, furthercomprising correcting errors in the second data by using the ECC enginebefore the generating of the third data, wherein in the generating ofthe third data, the third data is generated by using the first data andthe error-corrected second data.
 35. The method of claim 31, wherein acolumn select signal for reading the second data from the memory cellarray is activated before reception of the data masking signal.
 36. Themethod of claim 31, wherein the write command is a Read Modify Write(RMW) command.